Stamp Duty Reduction will Boost Sales in Festive Season

Subhash Goel, MD, Goel Ganga Developments Keeping festivities in mind, developers had already started floating offers, incentives like booking amount refunds, cashback schemes and easy payment structuring; these now clubbed with the reduction of stamp duty will create a huge boost in sales. The increase in transactions will automatically help with a positive rippling effect on the economy in general. We are looking forward to an enhanced high volume sales quarter this festive season. The reduction in stamp duty from 5 % to 3 % until 31st December 2020 by the Maharashtra Government was a much needed move that the state real estate sector was longing for for quite some time. The stamp duty from January 1, 2021, until March 31, 2021, will be 2%. The pandemic having affected all industries drastically with losses in jobs and salary deductions had caused a slowdown in real estate sales as well. Builders urged the government to take action by reducing stamp duty and other premiums and taxes to revive sales and attract home buyers. This measure taken by the state government is likely to boost both the real estate sector as well as homebuyers who have been suffering amid low demand and limited cash flow availability. Though the reduction in stamp duty is temporary, it is a strong move against the dampened real estate market hit by coronavirus pandemic and will help in reviving the property sales as it encourages people to buy sooner rather than later. It will create a huge incentive for fence sitters to come back and hasten the home-buying process as there was an expectation of some relief in pricing by them.  It will especially encourage first-time homebuyers, end-users as well as second home buyers and investors to get back into the market. Real estate sector was facing a downturn since the COVID 19, but due to reduction in stamp duty it will generate revenue for the government as well via increased registrations. The affordable and mid-segment sector where budgets are more modest, the reduction in price will act as a great push to get them back on the sale cycle.  It will also help in revival of the economy and employment generation.